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Posted: Mar. 02 2008,12:28 |
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Quote (mikshaw @ Feb. 03 2008,20:50) | I've been googling for sites that might be able to help me understand what is needed to create interfaces to appliances that can be controlled from a personal computer, but so far have come up with little results. |
Check out Chuck More's seaForth-24 processor - 24 processors running at 1 Ghz each and drawing less than one watt total. A mini-super computer on a chip.
Now, here's a platform to port *nix to!
"SEAforth-24 Chip Profile
"Combining a 6x4 array of 18-bit processors with a powerful set of I/O functions, the SEAforth-24 chip deploys an innovative dual-stack architecture that is both asynchronous and scalable. Capable of driving an antenna directly, the SEAforth-24 wireless solution eliminates the need for any external data converters. The numerous on-chip benefits include:
"* RAM and ROM on each core (512 words each) to break the memory bottleneck * Flash memory interface to ripple-load application code into cores at boot * Static/dynamic RAM interface to facilitate common data memory access * Real-time clock support in each core * 18-bit A/D and 9-bit D/A to eliminate need for external data conversion * Eleven Serial (SPI) ports, which can double as I2C, I2S, and USB ports * 32 Parallel I/O lines with handshaking for versatile "bit banging" * Scalable connectivity among multiple SEAforth-24 chips via high-speed I/O ports"
Also:
"# Forthlet Code objects that can be stored in one core but executed on others # Automatic "sleep mode" to save processor power while waiting to send/receive # RAM capacity for 2048 instructions; packing four instructions per 18-bit word # BIOS-facilitated message routing to assure efficient event coordination"
From: http://www.intellasys.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=55
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